Welcome Back SJLES!

Welcome Back SJLES! 

Greetings SJLES Families, 

As the big day approaches, our entire staff would like to wish each and every SJLES student and family member a Happy New School Year! It was awesome welcoming our staff back to The Lane yesterday and we are excited to welcome our Jaguars to the 2021-2022 school year for normalized in-person instruction! As our marquee states “We like summer break. We love back to school!” After these past 18 months there is no better Back To School than an in-person normalized instruction Back to School!  

As we continue to live and work through the challenges and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our community is now once again understandably filled with questions about what is ahead for our students. We understand our community, as our society at large, have varying views, practices, and feelings regarding the virus and how our schools should respond. Please know that we understand you all are sending us your most precious possessions. We understand and embrace our responsibility in doing all we can to keep your child well and for our school to be that safe and nurturing home away from home we all want SJLES to be for each and every student. Ms. Coleman, our entire staff, and I will work diligently to implement all HCPSS safety mitigation strategies, guidelines, and protocols.  We encourage you to review the HCPSS Reopening Plan for detailed information regarding the start of the school year, the recent HCPSS  health and safety communication, check the HCPSS 2021-2022 School Year site for additional updates and resources, and monitor your inbox for our SJLES Updates.

Our orientations and open houses are scheduled for Friday, 8/27. We have revised our previously shared plans in order to minimize traffic inside and outside our building and maximize the opportunity to engage with our students and families. We apologize for the change in time if you had already planned ahead, but believe this updated plan will better serve our students and community. Here is updated information regarding our orientation and open house events scheduled for Friday, 8/27. 

  • New Student Orientation (1st-5th Graders): Friday, 8/27 @ 9:00-9:45

    • Our New Student Orientation will include an informative overview of SJLES, a chance to engage with our administrative and leadership teams, and provide a tour of the school building and grounds. 

    • If your student was new to SJLES last year but did not attend in-person learning you are welcome to join us for this orientation and tour. 

    • We will post the New Student Orientation on our SJLES website for families who are unable to attend. 

  • Open Houses: Friday, 8/27 (times below)

    • Kindergarten Open House & Orientation @ 10:00-11:30

    • 1st Grade & 2nd Grade Open House @ 11:00-11:45

    • Intermediate (3rd-5th) Grades Open House @ 2:00-2:45

If you have students in more than one grade and are unable to attend multiple sessions, please attend the assigned time for your youngest student. You can also drop off your older students’ school supplies to his/her classroom and say hello to the teacher. If you can not attend our Open House please don’t worry! You can send any school supplies with your student on the first days of school and our teachers and staff will ensure your child knows where to go and feels welcome and ready on the big day! 

Understanding that our families have many questions, we will also host a Virtual Coffee & Conversation on Thursday, 8/26 from 2:00-3:00 PM. During this time our families can gain insights from our administrative team regarding all aspects of our 2021-2022 programming. Click here to RSVP and provide us with the insights to topics you would like to discuss. You do not have to RSVP to attend, but we appreciate you doing so to help us best prepare for our limited time together. The Google Meet information is below:

There have been several staffing changes that resulted from new opportunities for staff, retirements, and a decrease in staffing due to less than expected enrollment. Please visit our SJLES website for our full staff roster.

  • Ally Basile Capecci, Grade 3 Teacher - Mrs. Capecci joins us from Deep Run Elementary where she most recently served as a Math Focus Teacher. 

  • Victoria Borowy, Grade 1 Teacher - Mrs. Borowy joins us from Fulton Elementary where she served as Fourth Grade Instructional Team Leader.

  • Kelli Byle, Grade 3 Teacher - Mrs. Byle joins our third grade team after serving SJLES and several other elementary schools as Reading Support Teacher. 

  • Miriyam Cutlerywala, Kindergarten Assistant - Mrs. Cutlerywala will support our kindergarteners on a part-time basis after serving SJLES as a Classroom Monitor.

  • Maggie Fischer, .5 Media / .5 Technology Teacher - Mrs. Fischer served the Media and Technology programs at Fulton Elementary School last school year. 

  • Ronda Lennon, Pupil Personnel Worker - We welcome Mrs. Lennon to SJLES who brings years of experience serving HCPSS students and families as PPW. 

  • Jacquie Meiklejohn, Kindergarten Teacher - Mrs. Meiklejohn is a transfer from Waverly Elementary and brings years of early childhood experience to our kindergarten team.

  • Michael Moriarity, Kindergarten Paraeducator - Mr. Moriarity joins us on a part-time basis from West Friendship Elementary where he serves as a Paraeducator.

  • Ananya Chakraborty Paul, Student Assistant - Mrs. Chakraborty Paul officially joins our staff after serving as a Classroom Monitor last year. 

  • Vicky Pauller, Media Teacher - We welcome back Mrs. Pauller to SJLES as our full time Media teacher. 

  • Andrea Starr, Reading Support Teacher - Mrs. Starr is a former SJLES teacher and rejoins our staff in the role of Reading Support Teacher

  • Wesley Watson, Paraeducator - Mr. Watson joins us from Thunder Hill Elementary School where he served as a Special Education Paraeducator

  • Quixin Chen, Special Education Paraeducator - Mrs. Chen is now one of our Special Education Paraeducators after serving SJLES as a Student Assistant. 

Since our last staffing update in June we would like to inform you that Mrs. Eassa has joined the staff of the Digital Education Center, Mr. Kollosch has been transferred to Bushy Park Elementary, and Ms. Sarah Hunter has been transferred to serve as Gifted & Talented Teacher at Waterloo & Jeffers Hill Elementary Schools. Best wishes to each teacher in their new assignment! Additionally, Ms. Fauver will be teaching kindergarten this year and Mrs. Lowney will teach fifth grade. 

I am also excited for you all to get to know our new Assistant Principal Ms. Coleman throughout this school year. She has been absolutely wonderful to work with this summer, brings outstanding experience, has earned a wonderful reputation as a system leader, and is eager to be of service to our school community.  Please be sure to give Ms. Coleman and all our new staff members a very warm SJLES welcome! 

A few reminders to get you and your student ready for 2021-2022…

Families, we are looking forward to an OUTSTANDING 2021-2022 school year together and hope to see you all this Monday from 6:00-7:00 for our PTA School-wide Jaguar Playdate. Ms. Coleman, our entire staff, and I are here to be of service to your student(s) and family. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us anytime throughout the year. Happy New Year! #JaguarPride!

Sincerely,

Dan Notari

SJLES Principal